For Political Analysts, Ground Keeps Shifting This campaign cycle has put traditional pre-vote diagnostics ? fund-raising success and poll standings ? to a test that they have failed.... Read Full Article A Quest For Glory And A Bonus Ends In Disgrace The Société Générale worker who cost the French bank $7 billion in bad trades told investigators that all he wanted was to be respected, and to earn a big bonus.... Read Full Article America’s Allure Dented By Sarbanes-Oxley Law The ability of America to attract heavyweight stock market listings has been severely dented by its Sarbanes-Oxley law....... Read Full Article Cyberonics Names Chief And Says Marketing Will Shift The troubled maker of implantable stimulators said it had recruited a senior Boston Scientific marketing executive to become its chief executive.... Read Full Article Mum’s The Word: We Found A Greener Gas What’s greener than HFCs for refrigeration? Carbon dioxide. Thus the public relations problem.... Read Full Article |
Beijing Acts To Protect Land RightsCHINAS central Government has stepped in on the side of peasants against local officials in a bid to contain thousands of simmering land disputes that threaten to disturb the Governments vision of a "harmonious new countryside". Long-running land conflicts have recently reached boiling point in a number provinces and municipalities including Heilongjiang, Shaanxi, Jiangsu and Tianjin. A Land Ministry official said most disputes were caused by local governments ignoring national laws and regulations when appropriating village land. He pledged a mass media campaign to educate peasants on how to protect their collective land, noting they had proprietary and contractual rights entitling them to fair compensation. "I believe the disputes are caused (mainly) by governments in the localities concerned who fall short of implementing our guidelines," said the ministrys Liu Mingsong. He said the Government would use TV, radio, newspapers, mobile phones and old-style banners and slogans to get its message of legal empowerment through to the countrys 900 million peasants. Mr Liu said his department was investigating an Age report on a particularly large and bitter land battle in Heilongjiangs Fujin city, adding he was "taking this dispute very seriously". "If the farmers employ lawful means, then we will provide all our help to address their concerns," he said. The comments were significant in light of a visit by three senior Fujin officials to The Ages Beijing office last Tuesday. The local officials had denied there was any dispute in the village at the centre of the story, Dongnangang. Told of the discussion, Mr Liu said: "If what you said is true, we will of course correct irregularities of the local government." But he indicated the Government would not intervene to help one village leader, Yu Changwu, who was arrested last month after posting a letter on the internet that accused Fujin officials of acting like landlords. "If individual farmers violate our regulations or (contribute to) excessive social disorder, then local governments may put an end to such activity," he said. It is unclear how the Government plans to bridge the gulf between land law as it is written in Beijing and as it is enforced by local officials who stand to gain from development. Moves to enforce the law will not be unanimously welcomed by villagers on Chinas urban fringes, who have profited from an enormous boom in "minor property" housing developments on their collective land. Many villagers view this type of development, which bypasses official land transfer processes, as a means of securing a share of development profits that would otherwise flow directly to local government officials and developers. City dwellers have flocked to such developments to escape rising city property prices. Mr Liu said the Government had just completed a "100-day action" to crack down on such developments, uncovering more than 30,000 cases. Tag CloudExternal InformationAdditional InformationChallenger to Mugabe in Zimbabwe...PNG poll roll fears... High Heels and Gum Erode a Piece of Greece’s Heritage... Nigerian Kidnappers Release Foreign Hostages... Where Am I?News Main Page - Business - Beijing Acts To Protect Land Rights |
i8news.com |